A SUNDAY afternoon brass band concert in Bournemouth's Lower Gardens struck a particular chord with one member of the audience.

There to see and hear the visiting Grimsdyke Brass Band from Harrow in Middlesex was its founder musical director, Harry White, who retired to Bournemouth six years ago.

Now 87, widowed and in failing health, Harry was too frail to visit Harrow - so the band decided to visit him!

"It really is something of a pilgrimage for us," said musical director, David Abrahams, who in common with most of the band's members, learned to play under the tutelage of Mr White.

Euphonium player David was using an instrument which previously belonged to his mentor.

He said: "Harry taught me to play more than 20 years ago, but ironically I only joined the band last year when I started playing again."

"When I joined the band last year I thought it would be nice to play for Harry, but as he couldn't come up to see us, we decided we would come down to Bournemouth and do a concert for him."

"Harry was a major influence on a lot of people and when I asked the band how many wanted to come to Bournemouth to play for him every hand shot up."

Former Harrow mayor, Keith Toms, whose son Daniel is a band member, said: "The contribution Harry has made is enormous. He has been inspirational."

The present membership of 25 musicians, aged from teens to 60s, includes ten former pupils of Mr White, who as a music teacher and conductor of several school bands in Harrow started up the Grimsdyke Band in response to demand from his former pupils in 1979.

He recalled: "A lot of my pupils kept complaining and saying 'It's all right while we are at school, we have some jolly good bands and orchestras.

"But when we leave school we've got nothing.' So they persuaded me to start a band."

Under his baton the band quickly gained a 3leading reputation and has taken part in brass band festivals and competitions. The band's programme in the Lower Gardens opened with the popular Liberty Bell - best known as the Monty Python theme - among several brass band standards taught by Mr White and the 90-minute recital also included several film and television themes.

It was all worth the effort. "I had a wonderful time," said Harry.

"It was so nice of them to come down all this way especially for me."